


Roses and Morning Glories

by ShandyCandy278



Series: Undertale One-Shots [20]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: I hope you enjoy it, M/M, Merry late christmas and happy early new year!, Minor Character Death, Secret Santa, Secret Santa 2020, Secret Santa Fic, blood mention, hanahaki, he's kinda like 'oh well', killer doesn't care if he dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28385502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandyCandy278/pseuds/ShandyCandy278
Summary: It hurts. But Killer doesn't want to get rid of what little emotions he can properly feel.
Relationships: Killermare, NightKiller, Nightmare/Killer
Series: Undertale One-Shots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587931
Comments: 14
Kudos: 108





	Roses and Morning Glories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LynnDoesStuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LynnDoesStuff/gifts).



> HAPPY SECRET SANTA, LYNN! I find it hilarious that we got each other sdfkkhjsdfhkf and I hope you enjoy the fic! (I've never written a hanahaki fic before, so I'm sorry if it's off or something dskjdks).

It hurt.

Not his soul, for once. It was his magic. It was irritated in a way that he wasn’t used to, in a way that made it feel like something was tickling his spine and clogging it up. Killer constantly found himself scratching at his chest just below his soul. It had been a soft, barely noticeable thing at first, but slowly and surely it had grown into something more distracting. Thankfully he had been able to hide it (Nightmare would _not_ be pleased if he found out his right hand was coming down with something), but now it was starting to become… well, unbearable.

Killer didn't normally change clothes. He was a Sans, after all. Lazy and all that. And maybe, just maybe, he had been avoiding looking under them. After all, if it’s not there it shouldn’t exist, right?

But today he had nearly jeopardized the mission because of it. He couldn’t just keep this on the back burner anymore.

So after making sure he was in the privacy of his room, far away from prying eyes, he took off his jacket and reached down for the hem of his shirt. Slowly, ever-so-slowly, he pulled it over his skull.

What he saw really, _really_ should have only existed in those romance novels he caught Nightmare occasionally reading.

There, sitting nestled neatly inside his ribcage, were flowers and vines creeping around him.

And trying to get to his soul.

Instantly, he was thankful for the fact that his soul was always outside of his ribcage. From the looks of it, it would have gotten a _lot_ worse if that hadn’t been the case. Still, he gently cupped his soul and moved it away from the vines and flowers, setting it safely on a pillow before scooting a few feet away.

It took a bit of fumbling around with his phone and a few google searches before he was able to get the logistics of what was happening. The flowers he had in his chest (as far as he was concerned) were Morning Glories and blue and purple roses. Which were perfectly describing his feelings towards Nightmare.

Which made this stupid. He had loved Nightmare long before this- _hanahaki_ thing started acting up. 

Groaning, Killer tossed his phone across the bed and fell backwards with a small thump. He dragged his hands down his skull, struggling to think of what to do now. He certainly wasn’t telling Nightmare. He already knew his love wouldn’t be returned- there was no point in believing otherwise. Nightmare was the king of darkness, lord of negativity, prince of the shadows. He was tolerant with Killer at best, although Killer always teased and joked about it being something more.

How much time did he even have left, anyway? Couldn’t he like- tear the petals out or something? Or was that the same as surgically removing them, which in turn removed his love for Nightmare?

…

Well, if there was one thing Killer knew about all of this, it was that he didn't _want_ to stop loving Nightmare. What he felt for him wasn’t always constant (thanks to his messed up soul), but it was as constant as his feelings could actually ever get. So what if it killed him? He wasn’t letting that feeling go.

Guess he’d die then. At least until he figured out if pulling them out would do any good at all.

Killer put his shirt back on, followed by his jacket- which he zipped up. Then he reached over and grabbed his soul, gently putting it back where it belonged in front of his chest.

Guess he needed to do some interviewing of his own.

* * *

Killer waited until the next free day to put his plan into action.

“Wow, didn't realize you were a fan of kids shows, dweeb.”

Startled, Sci comically jumped out of his seat and nearly spilled his coffee, the cartoon on his computer being rudely interrupted as the sudden movement made it switch to a different tab and also hit a bookmark that started to play some music. Sci shut the computer off before the first chord could play, fixing up his glasses.

“What does Nightmare want now?” He asked.

“Nothing, actually. I’m the one that wants something this time.” He paused, smirking at the momentarily baffled look on Sci’s face. “What can you tell me about Hanahaki and skeletons, nerd?”

“Hanahaki?” Sci echoed, curiosity almost dripping off of his voice. Thankfully, he didn't ask questions. “What part about it?”

“The pulling out flowers part.”

“Ah. That.” He nodded, squinting as he looked over Killer with a scrutinizing eye. “Well, it temporarily depletes the feelings towards the lover. You can’t permanently remove the flowers without proper surgery. However, every time you do pull them out, they’ll only come back faster.”

Killer hummed, staring across the room at nothing in particular. At least he’d still get the feelings back and give himself more time to prepare. 

“You know,” Sci began, unnecessarily adjusting his glasses. “There have been studies where-”

Killer didn't want to sit around for another lecture, so he left.

* * *

It’s been a few months since he had actually discovered his condition now. 

He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to this. 

Unable to be sure that he actually loved Nightmare, anyway.

Sure, his feelings liked to come and go as they pleased, but this was a different kind of empty. And _unknowing_ kind of empty.

His most recent batch of flowers, vines, and thorns had been dumped into a random AU for some poor monster to deal with. He was currently laying on his bed- hands wrapped in bandages from the thorns that had dug into them so as not to worry anyone.

Heh, worry. Nightmare was already onto him. He could tell. Nightmare didn't like secrets, after all- and the fact that Killer was being sneaky didn't help. But Killer didn't want Nightmare to know, because once he found out, he would _know._ And then maybe Nightmare would care, maybe he wouldn’t (he knew he would)- but regardless, Nightmare would still blame it on himself. Just like Killer knew that Nightmare blamed himself for other things that he couldn’t control. Killer didn't want to give Nightmare that guilt. Not after everything he had gone through.

So Killer would just have to be careful when preparing to die. Simple.

Yeah right. It was the most complicated thing Killer’s ever tried to actually put effort into.

“Why’d I have to fall for him anyway?” He asked himself absently, his voice devoid of emotion. “He’s such a jerk. Always bossing everyone around. Heh, course I had to find that attractive. That and the way his face scrunches up when I start teasing him.”

Absently, he smiled a little. There was a soft little flicker of emotion, but it was gone before Killer could fully grasp it.

… man, Color would freak out so hilariously if he knew what was going on. Too bad he was out on vacation or something. 

Then again, so would Nightmare- but that was less hilarious and more complicated-feelings-mess.

He sighed and rolled over onto his other side, scratching his skull. He wondered how long he’d be able to keep this up for. Probably not all that much longer. The more time he put into drawing this out, the longer he risked Nightmare figuring this out.

And Killer didn't want that to happen.

* * *

It’s been a few more weeks now, with his situation quickly continuing to get worse. He was constantly having to sneak away- although that was becoming nigh impossible with nightmare constantly watching him like a hound. Not even his bedroom was safe anymore- the only time he could even pull out the flowers was during a mission. It was getting harder and harder to focus- to keep the facade up and smile like nothing was wrong. Even the other members had started to comment on it- bugging Killer in their own ways, trying to get the information out of him. Killer kept the secret shut tight, sometimes even lying through his teeth to get them to leave him alone.

Thankfully, he’d be able to escape some of that today.

They were out on a mission. Just him, Nightmare, and Cross. The boss needed some negativity, so he’d stay back while the two of them caused a bunch of it. Nightmare had to concentrate to absorb negativity from a long-distance though, and it had always been easy to ditch Cross. 

Easy, right?

Wrong, apparently- because the second he managed to do that, a shower of spears rained from the sky and at him.

“Oh, come on!” He exclaimed as he teleported out of the way. “Can’t a guy catch a break?!”

“SANS!” Undyne yelled, pointing a spear down at him. “YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!”

Well, his alternate was definitely in trouble.

“Sorry, fish sticks,” Killer said as he pulled out his knife. “You have the wrong Sans.” Undyne, of course, was confused- but that didn't stop her from attacking him some more regardless. Killer dodged effortlessly, throwing in attacks of his own as he did so. It went on for a few minutes, the two of them exchanging attacks, neither landing a hit. And so what if he was playing with Undyne a little? It helped his cause in the end, after all. Gave Nightmare _plenty_ of negativity to feed off of and all that. 

Or at least, that’s what he thought before he could both hear and _feel_ his own bones creaking as the vines moved. A few more dodges later and one even threatened to snap one of the false ribs. He grunted in pain, but he couldn’t just leave the fight. So instead, he dove in for the kill- piercing her in the soul. It worked, and he couldn’t help but grin sadistically as Undyne slowly began to dust.

Unfortunately, he realized a bit too late that Undyne’s spear had pierced through his shirt. Thankfully it had missed him, but there was now a large hole in his shirt, as well as a bunch of vines and flowers hanging off of him and that had fallen to the ground where the spear had cut through them. Killer cursed, tossing what was left of Undyne’s body away as he moved his hand towards the hole. He could already feel the need to pull them out again, but here didn’t feel like a private place to do it- not anymore.

Had it been because of Undyne? Absently, Killer shook his head. No, no- he could care less about if fish sticks saw. It wasn’t like she’d remember. Something else was off- something that he felt should be obvious but just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Before Killer could even think of walking away to find another place to do it in, a presence appeared behind him- a cold one that he should have noticed long before now with how familiar it was.

Killer froze.

The silence ticked on as he simply stood there- hand over the hole in his shirt and the flowers sprinkled around them. He didn’t dare turn around to look at who it was- much less address what had happened.

Finally, Nightmare spoke. “Killer.”

“Heyyyyy, Boss!” Killer chuckled humorlessly and then looked over his shoulder. “You enjoy the little show I put on for ya? Not one of my best, but their face when they realized I could kill them at any time was priceless, yeah?”

_“Killer.”_

Well, crap.

“Yeah, boss?”

Nightmare fell silent behind him as he watched Killer slowly turn around. He had his thinking face on- a cute one that also told Killer that he had to be extra careful here.

“... why didn’t you tell me?”

“About the attack? Well that’s-“

“No, you _idiot.”_ Nightmare hissed, stepping impossibly closer. Even though he was a bit smaller than Killer, Killer felt like he was leaning over him- intimidating him. “Why didn’t you tell me about the Hanahaki?”

Killer looked into Nightmare’s eye for a moment before looking away.

“You mean the flowers on the ground?” He scoffed. “That was for a bouquet. Was hoping to prank Cross with it but Undyne kinda-“

“Stop lying to me.”

Killer stopped.

“I saw the entire last half of the battle, Killer.” Nightmare stated. “Now. _Why didn’t you tell me?”_

“Because it wasn’t important.” He found himself saying. “So what if I have a bunch of flowers in my ribcage? Big deal.”

“Big d- it _IS_ a big deal!” Nightmare put his hands on Killer’s shoulders. “Hanahaki can kill you, you idiot! What were you thinking?! That you were the exception?!” Nightmare scoffed, a tendril wrapping around Killer’s wrist as he let go of Killer’s shoulders and turned around. “Come on. Hopefully, it’s not too late to put you through surgery.”

Killer froze.

_No._

It took a moment for Killer to even realize he had said it out loud. Nightmare looked back over his shoulder to glare at him.

“ _‘No’_ ?” He hissed. “What do you _mean, ‘no’?!”_

“I don’t want to have them surgically removed.” He answered, firmly planting his feet in the ground. “I don’t care if it kills me.”

Nightmare growled, turning back around to face him. “Then who’s the one who needs a reality check, huh?! Who’s the one you fell for that doesn’t love you back?!”

Killer fell silent.

This had been exactly what he had been trying to avoid.

“Look, boss-“

“Don’t ’look-boss’ me!” Nightmare leaned in close again. **_“Who. Is. It?”_ **

“Oh, for Pete's sake,” Killer threw his arms up into the air. “I thought you could read emotions, Night! You should know!”

“Evidently, I don’t. Now tell me.”

… Oh, what the heck- Killer could never give up the opportunity to tease Nightmare.

“Well, they kinda have a thing against people loving them for some reason.”

“That’s an obvious trait, considering these flowers exist.” Nightmare scoffed. “I want names, Killer.”

“They’re also kinda demanding. Bossy, you could say.”

“That doesn’t tell me who it is.”

“They kinda act like a cat now that I think about it.”

 _“Please_ not a cattale citizen. Are you really going to make me guess?”

Killer winked, and the echoing groan was music to his ears. “They’re kinda important. Take the whole responsibility thing extra seriously. Never really understood it but they’re cute when they’re trying to focus.”

“Is it Color?”

“Nah. Color’s a bit _open_ about how he’s feeling if ya catch my drift.” He chuckled. “They much prefer to hide any emotions that they think are inconsequential. Deep down enough that it’s hard to see if they even properly enjoy anything outside of seeing others suffer.”

“A fellverse?”

Killer shook his head. “I’ve been with them for a while. A long while. Not sure when the emotions _sprouted_ up, but I can certainly tell you when they _bloomed.”_

“No puns when you’re dying.”

“No promises.” He chuckled. “That’s another thing I like about them though- they’re always trying to get down to the point.”

“Sounds like someone I’d get along with if you’re concerned about that.”

“Hmm, I don’t know, boss.” He chuckled. “I don’t think you’d enjoy having another you in your midst.”

…

Nightmare blinked. Then stared. Then made a face of absolute disgust. “Another me? How’d you even find them? Travel the Omniverse, did you? I’m pretty sure I would have known if you left our multiverse though.”

Killer burst out laughing. It was a hard laugh, one that he hadn’t had for a while. Mostly because-

He falsely choked on the flowers, coughing as he put his teeth in the elbow of his sleeve. When he finished and pulled it away, there was blood and various petals laying there. 

And he had been trying so hard to avoid doing that.

It was only then he had noticed that Nighmare’s tendrils were wrapped around him- as though he was some precious and fragile thing that needed support. Behind Nightmare’s hard, expressionless gaze was an emotion of soft concern and worry. Killer could feel his soul thump hard from where it was in front of his chest.

“I could never love an alternate of the real thing, boss.”

A confused look crossed his face, and it was only as realization slowly struck him that Killer realized that he could have avoided it after all by telling Nightmare a lie or something. Like saying it was Error or Cross. Oh well, too late now.

“... Killer, you…” Nightmare trailed off- looking confused and baffled. But not enough for Nightmare to continue to hide his true feelings- the ones hidden behind his mask. But the fact that Killer was even seeing this much meant something- something that Killer knew he would treasure for his final days. 

They stood in silence for several moments, staring at each other. Then, Nightmare took a step closer. And another.

“You idiot.” He said, in a tone so soft that Killer just knew he had fallen for him all over again. “You absolute imbecile. You should have told me.”

“Heh, what? It’s not like you’d-“ He was suddenly cut off through a kiss- the act so shocking and brief that he almost missed it.

“... but I do.” Without prompting, Nightmare turned around- his tendrils gently picking Killer up. “Come,” He said, as though the blue and purple blush on his cheeks (that Killer had never thought he’d ever see) wasn’t there. “We’ll go to my chambers and take care of your little mess while we talk.”

Grinning so widely it hurt, Killer chuckled. “Whatever you say, boss.”


End file.
